Pell Grant Creator Dies

Claiborne Pell died today at the age of ninety years old.  I might never have heard of him had I not been listening to the news tonight, yet I wouldn’t have the career in occupational therapy that I have now if it weren’t for this man.

He was a senator from Rhode Island for over thirty-six years, elected in 1960 and leaving in 1997 after six terms.  He was known for being liberal and taking on the causes of the less fortunate.

In 1945 he participated in the conference that drafted the United Nations Charter.  He was also the main sponsor of the bills creating the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for Humanities.

He was instrumental in the creation of Basic Educational Opportunity Grants that have aided over fifty-four million
college students since they were passed into legislation in 1972.  I was one of those students who benefitted from what became known in 1980 as “Pell Grants”.

Claiborne Pell is the reason why I took those one-credit courses such as ice skating, bowling, tennis and jogging.  He is why I also went for a major in psychology in addition to completing the occupational therapist Bachelors degree.  In order to keep a Pell Grant you needed to maintain a certain number of credits per semester and the O.T. program was usually a few credits short so I had to fill in the credits.  Thanks to this, I feel my education was much more well rounded than it would have been otherwise.

Though Mr. Pell was often criticized for his interests in both UFOs and extra sensory perception, he was best remembered for his love and dedication to education, foreign affairs and maritime issues.  When asked what his greatest achievement has been in his years as a senator he was always quick to answer, “Pell Grants”.

Mr. Pell died just after twelve a.m. on January 1, 2009 at his Newport home, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.  He disclosed that he had Parkinson’s disease in December of 1994 and left office in January 1997 at the end of his sixth term.